AC Milan legend Franco Baresi excited for ‘historic' Liverpool rivalry in Hong Kong
Advertisement
Monday saw the announcement of the Hong Kong Football Festival 2025 at Kai Tak Stadium, in which Milan will take on Liverpool on July 26 before Arsenal face Tottenham five days later.
The Rossoneri have been crowned European champions on seven occasions, while Liverpool have won the same trophy six times.
The two sides met in the 2005 and 2007 Champions League final, with each earning a victory – and Baresi is looking forward to watching the rivalry continue in Hong Kong.
'When you play for a great club like Milan and you travel the world, you always have a responsibility to do your best and respect the job at hand as well as to people who have come to watch,' Baresi told the Post. 'We have a historic rivalry with Liverpool so it's always an important match. Between us, we've been champions of Europe 13 times.'
Franco Baresi poses for a photo outside the new Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong. Photo: AC Milan
Baresi, who retired in 1997, last played in Hong Kong in a pre-season tour in 1995, when, a month after losing the Champions League final to Ajax, they beat South China 2-1 in the BB Telecom Super Champions Cup.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
2 hours ago
- RTHK
Reds lose Diaz to Bayern in reported 75m euro deal
Reds lose Diaz to Bayern in reported 75m euro deal Luis Diaz made 148 appearances in all competitions across four seasons at Liverpool, scoring 41 goals and registering 23 assists. File photo: Reuters Bayern Munich have signed Colombian winger Luis Diaz from Liverpool on a four-year contract, the Bundesliga club said on Wednesday. Financial details of the transfer were not revealed but British media reported Bayern paid around 75 million euros for the 28-year-old Colombia international. Diaz's contract with Liverpool ran until June 2027. He moved to the Merseyside club from Portuguese side Porto for around 50 million euros in January 2022. "Three years and a half that I'll treasure forever. I arrived with all the dreams in the world, and I am leaving proud of everything we achieved together," Diaz posted on Instagram. "I have met incredible people, fabulous colleagues, coaches who helped me a lot, and extraordinary fans. Liverpool is, indeed, a special team, and I will keep everyone in my heart... "It would have been the perfect goodbye if we hadn't lost one of ours in such a tragic way," Diaz added, referring to former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident in July. "As I said, and I repeat, I carry everyone with me in my heart, but one of them in particular: Diogo. I will never forget him. We will never forget him. Thank you for everything. YNWA." Diaz made 148 appearances in all competitions across four seasons at Liverpool, scoring 41 goals and registering 23 assists. His best performance in the Premier League came last season, when he helped Liverpool to their record-equalling 20th English top-flight title with 13 goals and seven assists from 36 games. Diaz also helped Liverpool win the FA Cup in 2022 and the League Cup in 2022 and 2024. He primarily played on the left wing at Liverpool and can also be deployed as a striker. "Luis Diaz is an internationally experienced player with enormous quality, great skills and great reliability. He will help our team immediately. We are delighted that we were able to sign him for Bayern," Bayern sporting director Max Eberl said. "Transfers like this work when everything clicks into place. Our fans can look forward to an exceptional player." Diaz is the second Liverpool player to join a German side in this transfer window, after defender Jarell Quansah moved to Bayer Leverkusen in July. (Reuters)
South China Morning Post
11 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Tottenham Hotspur make low-key Hong Kong Football Festival entrance
Tottenham Hotspur made a relatively low-key entrance to the Hong Kong Football Festival on Tuesday, holding a public training session in front of 9,080 fans at Kai Tak Stadium. While the Europa League winners drew only around one-third of the 27,000 who watched Liverpool practice last Thursday, the Spurs devotees lapped up their 75 minutes of action. Stars including James Maddison, Richarlison and fan favourite Son Heung-min participated in various keep-ball games, before moving through some gruelling sprinting exercises and into a full game, played on half the pitch. Days after Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk criticised the surface, it again noticeably cut-up as players engaged in slick, condensed drills where they tried to keep the ball away from each other. Any sight of Son on the big screen generated excited screams, although the cheers gave way to jeers when the cameras picked out a fan wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words 'I love Levy', in reference to the club's unpopular chairman Daniel Levy. Son Heung-min powers forwards as the Kai Tak playing surface shows signs of wear and tear. Photo: Elson Li Also captured on the large television was a youngster wearing a Liverpool shirt, a reminder of the Premier League champions' overwhelming popularity in Asia.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Why is Chinese football developing so slowly? AC Milan academy coach gives 1 reason
China's failure to impose itself on the football stage is an issue that continues to baffle many in the game. Advertisement Despite its vast size and population, it has failed to qualify for a men's World Cup since 2002 and will once again miss out on the 2026 edition after finishing behind Indonesia in qualifying. Andrea Galbiati is a coach at AC Milan's academy in Hong Kong, having recently been transferred from his post in Beijing – and he highlighted some of the issues he felt have been holding the country's youth development back. 'When you're dealing with young children, the relationship with the parents is vital,' Galbiati told the Post. 'You need to earn their just; they need to see that their child is happy. 'So not being able to communicate with parents in Beijing because of the language barrier, it made things much more difficult. Andrea Galbiati (right) with Alexandre Pato at AC Milan's academy in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout 'Those 45 or older: let's say 95 per cent don't speak English, which was an issue. It's the same where I'm from in Italy.
